


In darkness and light

by amaresu



Category: The Forbidden Game - L. J. Smith
Genre: Community: kink_bingo, Cousin Incest, F/M, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-10
Updated: 2010-08-10
Packaged: 2017-10-11 01:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/106540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaresu/pseuds/amaresu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four years on and things have changed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In darkness and light

Jenny shows up at his door the first day of Spring Break. She's grown her hair out again and she kisses his check lightly as she walks through the door, "Haven't seen you in awhile. I thought I'd drop by."

The way she says it, hopeful and slightly unsure, reminds him just how far apart they've all grown. Except for Audrey and Dee who are roommates in New York and that just proves his point. Looking around his loft it's not hard to see he doesn't have visitors very often, most of the space taken up by his photography equipment, "You're always welcome Jenny." He shouldn't be surprised that he means it, but he is.

After that it's like old times, just four years ago but it seems like forever. They talk all night with only a brief pause to order chinese and Zach can almost imagine that it hasn't been over a year since he last spoke to her. Which is why it's all the more surprising when it becomes clear just how much has changed. It's well past midnight and he's walking out of the bathroom when he sees her standing by the couch, digging through her bag, completely naked but for her underwear. The runes tattooed on her skin are obscene to look at after what they all went through. He knows they're the reason she eventually broke up with Tom for good, Tom unable to accept what she was doing and Jenny refusing to stop.

Without noticing him she straightens up and he can see the thick line of runes wrapping around her hips like a belt and then a cluster along her shoulder as she bends down to pull on her sweatpants. She turns slightly as she pulls them up and he can see the curl of runes across her stomach and up to her breasts. An old rush of desire burns through him mixed with the same old shame at feeling like that towards his cousin. It's only as he watches the tank top get pulled over her breasts, covering the spirals of runes towards her nipples, that he realizes Jenny is facing him. Looking up he can see the fear on her face and she crosses her arms defensively, "And?"

He expected accusations, yelling maybe, not the quiet question. It hits him then that she's worried about his reaction to her tattoos and not that he was watching her. The tangle of thoughts confuses him enough that he spits out the first thing that pops into his head, "I want to photograph you."

She looks at him in surprise, but as soon as he said it he knew it was true. He does want to photograph her, he can already see the way the light would play across her skin. She lowers her arms and smiles at him, "Okay."

Just like that he has a new subject for his film. Jenny relaxes as they talk about what he wants to do and it's only then that he realizes she had been waiting for him to kick her out. It makes him wonder what exactly the others said to her about her tattoos, besides Tom obviously. He doesn't dwell on it though, instead planning just what sorts of lighting he's going to use and debating what color of backdrop to display her against.

They spend the next day shooting. Jenny is naked and they position her hair, hands, and limbs in a variety of different ways so that everything is tasteful enough for a magazine cover. They go through four rolls of film and a dozen light filters before he's done. The twisting play of light and shadow across her body providing a rich palette to view the runes with, the dark grey backdrop making everything stand out all that much more. He thinks it's one of the best shoots he's ever done and he's not even sure what he'll do with the pictures. The runes have gone from being obscene to being beautiful in their strange march across Jenny's body. He doesn't quite understand why she did it, but it works for some reason.

It's only as he's packing up his camera that he realizes Jenny is still standing against the backdrop. Still completely naked and not even covering herself anymore, just watching him. He can feel his mouth go dry as he looks at her, can feel everything he managed to push away while they were working, come rushing up. It takes a second, a long second where he tries to stop staring and fails, to work up enough saliva to talk, "Jenny." It's all he can say.

"It's okay," she says as she walks towards him. Slow and steady and it's everything but okay because she's his cousin. "I know."

It's the way she says it, looking into his eyes and stopping just shy of being close enough to touch. She does know, she knows everything he's tried to hide for years. "How?"

"He told me." It's a simple statement, but Zach feels like the air has been knocked from his body. And just to make sure he knows she talking about Julian she goes on, "In the paper house."

It's too much, far too much, and he wants to demand a better explanation. He wasn't to ask her what the hell she's doing but he can't get the breath to say anything. He vaguely hears her ask if he's okay, but he's feeling light headed and can't focus. Can't focus until she stands right next to him and kisses him gently on the lips. Just hard enough to stop his panicking before backing up. She looks at him and smiles before taking his hand, "It's okay."

And just like that it is. The power of Jenny to say something and have it be so, something that came after Julian's demise. Or perhaps just before it when she led the way into the Shadow World to rescue him and Tom. He lets her pull him towards her, helps her remove his clothing and then returns her kisses. She lets him trace the loops of the runes across her body. From the dark black of a chunky Othala on her right wrist to the surprisingly bare skin of her feet, "I'm saving up for those."

Of course she is and he can't wait to see what she does. The runes run in patterns across her skin, in loops and curves, and there's an entire rune wheel around her belly button. There are combinations that he knows are rune staves, but he couldn't guess the meaning of, and he finds them all anyway. He thinks maybe he understands as he traces the spirals around her breasts; Dagaz, Berkana, Kenaz, and Ansuz all wrapping around in delicate chains up to her nipples. He loses it when she moves her hips and he bucks up into her, squeezing her breasts between his hands. And she laughs before leaning down to kiss him.

She leaves at the end of the week with a soft kiss and promise to call. It's only then that he develops the film and finds the two extra photos at the end. He's not sure when she took them. The lighting is a bit off, but they're all the more precious for it. They're simple pictures, just Jenny spread eagle and naked against the backdrop. One front and one back. They're perfect.


End file.
